Intel Shows Off Ultrabook-Tablet Hybrid Running Windows 8

Super-thin, super-light and super-speedy, ultrabooks were designed to make us forget about traditional PC notebooks. They were all the rage at their big CES coming-out party in January, but now even “traditional” ultrabooks are passe.

At IDF 2012 in Beijing last week, Intel showed off a clever new take on the ultrabook platform when it demoed an ultrabook-tablet hybrid reference design dubbed Cove Point.

“When we started talking about ultrabooks last year, we talked about different form factors, and touch and convertibles,” Gary Richman, Director of Marketing for Intel’s PC Client Solutions Division, told Wired. “This has been an evolution over time. Ultrabooks were never meant to be just clamshell designs.”

Intel’s Cove Point — aka Letexo, a former code name still used by some journalists — looks similar to two-in-one tablets like the Asus Transformer, which caters to consumers who can’t decide whether to buy a tablet or notebook.

Cove Point sports a touchscreen that can be used as a tablet when the device is closed. The keyboard rests flush against the back of the screen in this position, so the device more closely resembles a standard tablet than a clamshell notebook. You can also push the screen forward and prop it up against a stand to reveal a full-size keyboard — voila, you now have an ultrabook. Cove Point also boasts other folding modes that make it easy to watch a movie, or type on the touchscreen.

Most importantly, Cove Point isn’t just another Android tablet with an attached keyboard, a la the Asus Transformer. The hardware can be used as a full-fledged PC — Intel showed off the device running the Consumer Preview of Windows 8. At the demo, Cove Point also ran on an early sample of Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge CPU. Just like you’d find in a full-fledged notebook, the device sports a 12.5-inch screen, two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port.

Richman and his team have been working on the Cove Point project since last year.

“Where we see the future of computing going, with tablets and Windows 8, is the importance of the touch experience,” Richman said. “[With Cove Point] we were looking to define the compelling form factors, usages and benefits of having a notebook design, while taking advantage of the touch experience in Windows 8.”

Currently, no OEMs have made a Cove Point announcement, but we would be surprised if manufacturers ignored the ultrabook-hybrid form factor entirely. As it’s currently configured, Richman estimates Intel’s Cove Point device would probably cost consumers around $1,000. You can catch a glimpse of Cove Point in this video of highlights from IDF 2012: